4. Donald Trump appears to believe that once the country is “reopened,” the economy will “snap back” to where it was when spending was strong and markets bullish.
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15. AM: That's exactly what he did during his entire career in the real estate business—and in his marriages—abandoning one failed venture after another the second things turned rocky. Now he's doing it to the entire country.” But liberals should take that further.
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16. Why does a man abandon things “the second things turned rocky”? It could be he’s selfish. It could be he’s greedy. It could be he has the focus of a gnat.
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17. But at the root of these is fear—fear of being left out, fear of missing out, fear of not being recognized for being better than everyone else.
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18. We all have fears, of course, but most of us screw up the courage to face them. We must. That’s never been the case for Donald Trump.
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19. Liberals usually do not make a big deal of fear, because liberals are empathetic. They do not, as conservatives are wont to do, ridicule someone for being afraid, especially men who are not supposed to feel fear and should “man up.”
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20. But empathy can go too far. One limit should be when presidents include children and seniors among the “warriors” prepared to die for glory and honor. We have reached a point where it’s not only appropriate to call out cowardice; it’s appropriate to express contempt for it.
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21. Some time ago, Mike Wallace was asked a hypothetical. If he knew beforehand that the Vietcong were about to ambush US troops in Vietnam, would he alert them?
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22. The late “60 Minutes” correspondent answered with a definitive no. He’s a reporter, he said, and reporters remain neutral, even if that means his countrymen are slaughtered.
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23. Wallace was sitting on an ethics panel with other esteemed figures, including George M. Connell, “a Marine colonel in full uniform.”
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24. According to
@JamesFallows classic description, the panel’s moderator asked Connell to respond to Wallace. “Jaw muscles flexing in anger, with stress on each word, Connell said, ‘I feel utter contempt.’”https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/02/why-americans-hate-the-media/305060/ …Show this thread -
25. We are not living in a hypothetical. By all accounts, the president knew beforehand the coronavirus would ambush us. He did not act, blocked others from acting, and kept former administration officials from telling on him.
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26. He knew it was coming and failed warn us not out of principle, however misguided Wallace’s might be, but out of plain ordinary cowardice. Like Col. George Connell, Americans should show contempt. Full article here ---->https://stoehr.substack.com/p/contempt-for-trumps-cowardice …
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27. Many thanks for reading. Please support the Editorial Board by becoming a paying subscriber or leaving a tip! THANKS! https://stoehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=web&utm_source=subscribe-widget&utm_content=439278 …
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End of conversation
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